07/17/2010 - Hawaii Filipino Chronicle

Transcription

JULY 17, 2010 HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE 1
♦
WEEKLY
♦ JULY 17, 2010 ♦
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2 HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE JULY 17, 2010
FROM THE PUBLISHER
EDITORIAL
A Beautiful Harmony of
Filipino Music
y nature, Filipinos love music. This love is apparent
in the presence of many native music instruments in
nearly all communities in the Philippines. Perhaps
the most popular of instruments is the guitar. It was
used by our forefathers to pass the time during planting seasons and to serenade fair maidens. Filipinos
also take great pride in Philippine guitar makers who export their
products worldwide.
As for guitar music from the Philippines, it is as diverse as the
many regions and islands of the country and influenced by many
cultures, ranging from the indigenous music of native aborigines,
to music from centuries of Spanish rule and more. However, outside of relatively small circles of guitar aficionados, most Philippine guitar music is unknown outside of the Philippines.
Enter music virtuoso and composer Bayani de Leon who is
self taught in the guitar, trumpet, violin, accordion, cello, the kulintang, rondalla and other indigenous Philippine instruments. He has
composed several hundred musical arrangements of Philippine
folk and indigenous music, standard classical repertoire, Broadway and opera tunes and world music for band, rondalla, chorus,
various chamber groups and orchestra.
He is also an accomplished poet, short story writer, ethnomusicologist, scholar of Asian arts and culture and martial artist. He
holds Bachelor’s degrees in journalism, philosophy and music
composition, and an Master’s in avant-garde music from the University of California in San Diego. His fascinating background has
led him to compose deeply esoteric work that successfully reinterprets traditional folk music from the Philippines and makes it accessible for an entirely new global audience. His range of genres
enables listeners to absorb all aspects of Filipino culture.
If the history of any culture is told through its music, then de
Leon is the orator of his time. He represents the very best of the
Philippines’ musical talent and ingenuity and makes us proud to be
Filipino.
B
Light at End of Tunnel For
Mass Transit Project
he approval of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) last month was a key milestone for
Oahu’s long anticipated and long overdue transit
project.
The ball is now in Gov. Linda Lingle’s court,
so to speak. With her approval of the FEIS, the FTA can issue a
Record of Decision—which clears the way for groundbreaking to
begin. However, she has specifically stated a desire to independently review the project’s financing plan. She is entitled to do so
but we hope that her review won’t result in unnecessary delays. In
fact, any such review by the State should cover only new and pertinent issues such as financing and the Programmatic Agreement
on how to proceed with Hawaiian burials and historic sites along
the transit route. The review should not rehash alternatives, technologies and other old topics. As far as we’re concerned, those
ships have long sailed.
It’s time to move forward courageously on mass transit. Our
elected officials have spent enough time debating, studying and
discussing the issue. In fact, we can no longer afford to wait. If we
wait for the “perfect” mass transit system that satisfies every critic,
we will be waiting for the next several hundred years. The truth is,
there will never be that “perfect” system. But the current proposal
put forth by the City and is waiting in the wings is the best solu-
T
loha and welcome to yet another
issue of Hawaii’s leading Filipino community newspaper—
the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle!
Our staff is dedicated to providing our readers with informative
and timely stories in each and every issue.
Since many Filipinos enjoy playing basketball, many of you
are probably aware that last week NBA megastar LeBron James
signed a mega-contract to join U.S. Olympic teammates Dwayne
Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. But did you know that the Miami
Heat head coach Eric Celino Spoelstra is Filipino-American? In
fact, Spoelstra, who traces his roots from San Pablo City, San
Pablo, Laguna in the Philippines, is the first ever Fil-Am to call
the shots for an NBA team. Best of luck to Coach Spoelstra and
the Heat for a successful 2010-2011 season!
A little closer to home, a bill to ban fireworks was advanced
by the Honolulu City Council earlier this week by an 8-1 vote.
The bill calls for a complete ban on all consumer fireworks, including firecrackers and sparklers. Dozens testified for and
against the bill, with supporters citing health and public safety
issues and opponents saying that an all-out ban imposes on cultural and religious traditions in Hawaii and is difficult to enforce.
Stay tuned on this very important issue that will affect many
Oahu residents.
For this issue’s cover story, contributing writer Fiedes Doctor introduces us to Bayani de Leon, a musical genius and expert
composer of Philippine music. Once in a blue moon, someone
like de Leon comes along and astounds us with his or her talents.
We hope you will enjoy reading her story on this extraordinary
musician which begins on page 4.
Speaking of extraordinary, congratulations are in order to a
select team of students from Hanalani School for winning the International Botball Tournament held in Edwardsville, Illinois.
The tournament was one of the highlights of the 2010 Global
Conference on Educational Robotics. The small, private school in
Mililani faced 64 teams from around the globe and came out victorious. Hanalani’s victory will hopefully encourage other Hawaii
students to study the growing and fascinating high-tech field of
robotics! Please read more about Team Hanalani on page 8.
In closing, we hope you will enjoy reading these and other articles of interest in this issue, such as Legislative Connection
(page 3), Immigration Guide (page 7), Legal Notes (page 13) and
Philippine Language (page 14). Thank you for faithfully supporting the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle. Please feel free to contact
us at: [email protected] if you have concerns or questions regarding Hawaii’s Filipino community.
Until next time… aloha and mabuhay!
A
Publisher & Executive Editor
Charlie Y. Sonido, M.D.
Publisher & Managing Editor
Chona A. Montesines-Sonido
Associate Editors
Dennis Galolo
Edwin Quinabo
Creative Designer
Junggoi Peralta
Design Consultant
Randall Shiroma
Photographer
Tim Llena
Administrative Assistant
Shalimar Pagulayan
Columnists
Carlota Ader
Carlo Cadiz, M.D.
Sen. Will Espero
Grace F. Fong, Ed.D
Mayor Mufi Hannemann
Governor Linda Lingle
Ruth Elynia Mabanglo, Ph.D.
J.P. Orias
Pacita Saludes
Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq.
Charlie Sonido, M.D.
Emmanuel S. Tipon, Esq.
Felino S. Tubera
Sylvia Yuen, Ph.D.
Contributing Writers
Belinda Aquino, Ph.D.
Clement Bautista
Teresita Bernales, Ph.D
Linda Dela Cruz
Fiedes Doctor
Gregory Bren Garcia
Danny De Gracia, II, MA
Amelia Jacang, M.D.
Caroline Julian
Paul Melvin Palalay, M.D.
Glenn Wakai
Philippine Correspondent
Guil Franco
Big Island Distributor
Grace Larson
Ditas Udani
Maui Distributor
Cecile Piros
Molokai Distributor
Maria Watanabe
Advertising/Marketing Director
Chona A. Montesines-Sonido
Account Executives
Carlota Ader
J.P. Orias
tion to date to Oahu’s traffic woes.
As for traffic, it will worsen as our population and development, particularly in West and Central Oahu, continue to grow—
unless commuters are given an alternative. What is needed is a
quick, reliable and efficient way for commuters to get into town
and back home. So far, only a grade-separated rail system is capable of doing just that.
Sure, it costs a pretty penny—$5.5 billion to be exact—but
with a dedicated funding source in GET tax collections and a $1.55
billion commitment from the federal government, it is an investment we MUST boldly make for the future. It simply makes sense
for Oahu residents.
The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle is published
weekly by The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle Inc.
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the neighbor islands. Editorial and advertising deadlines are three weeks prior to publication date. Subscriptions are available at
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$90. Copyright 2006. The Hawaii Filipino
Chronicle Inc. is located at 94-356 Waipahu
Depot, Waipahu, HI 96797. Telephone
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E-mail [email protected]. Website: www.thefilipinochronicle.com. Opinions
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LEGISLATIVE CONNECTION
The New Hui
By Senator Will Espero
four-year-old state
law, Act 271, is
coming
to
fruition, specifically, to help
farmers get started
on former pineapple and sugar cane plantation
land. That's great news for our
state's economy. Our agricultural scene today is not the twocrop industry of yesteryear. Our
farmers produce a wide array of
products: cheeses, tea, coffee,
avocados, hydroponic lettuce,
won bok, bok choi, choi sum,
chives, and many other fruits
and vegetables. Our chocolate
macadamia nut candies are
world famous, sold in many
stores across the mainland.
Even our lei and decorative
flower industry grows the most
fragrant and lovely floral offerings anywhere in the world.
Our aquaculture is par excel-
A
lence with tasty opakapaka,
aku, mahi mahi, shrimp, and
many more. Old-timers may
have welcomed Primo Breweries, which once again began
offering that familiar blue-label
beer.
It's time for us to move forward and embrace agriculture
and aquaculture as a vital contributor to our state's economy.
Let's look at our Pacific Northwest sister state, Washington, to
see what kind of potential there
is in supporting food production
as an industry.
Our Sister State
Washington is the third
largest food producing state in
our nation, exporting nearly
$14.8 billion in 2008. Annually,
the industry generates $38 billion, comprises 12% of the
state's economy, and provides
160,000 jobs. A hefty chunk of
its exports goes overseas to Taiwan, Korea, and southeast Asia.
There are 39,000 farms. The
apple crop contributes 59% of
the entire national production.
Washington is the country's top
producer of apples, cherries,
and hops, and the second top
producer of potatoes and
grapes. Its 10 largest commodities include, in this order: apples, milk, wheat, potatoes,
cattle, hay, nursery/greenhouses, cherries, hops, and
grapes. Other important crops
include raspberries, mint oils,
fish and shellfish, and farm forest products.
Variety is a key characteristic of Washington agriculture,
with around 300 commodities
produced. The state is the
largest producer of 10 crops
around the country. Many
crops are sold to independent or
co-op food processors. Would
it surprise you to learn that
Washington is the country's top
producer of potatoes for french
fries? It also is a leading producer of apple, grape, and berry
juices. Washington, with over
600 wineries, is the second
largest American producer of
wines, following California,
and leading Oregon and New
York. Our country is the
world's fourth largest producer
of wines, with California's
alone being more than twice the
production of the entire country
of Australia.
Kunia Loa
The new Kunia farm hui is
exciting because of the great
potential it has for diversifying
our economy and producing locally available food. The Kunia
Loa is one of the biggest agricultural areas in Hawaii, with
854 acres. Act 271, passed in
2006, was passed to make it
easier to large landowners to
lease property to small farmers.
C&C Farmlands LLC is the first
entity to use the law to subdivide the land to farmers. Banana, lychee, and mango are
among the crops that are
planned by the first 20 farmers.
Our "Hawaii 2050 Sustainability Plan" encourages reports
that only about 15% of the total
food and 35% of fruits and vegetables we consume are grown
locally. The Legislature passed
HB 2421/Act 73 this year to
create initiatives for economic
development in local food &
energy businesses to promote
self-sufficiency. With 99 lots
available for new farms, we are
moving in the right direction toward food security. The more
we can -- raise livestock for
meat, grow vegetables and fruit,
produce milk and dairy products that we consume -- the less
dependent we will be on imports. Just as importantly,
growing our own food keeps
our dollars circulating through
our state economy rather than
sending it out, which keeps our
local markets strong.
I commend the entrepreneur spirit of these new farmers
who are taking the bold step to
make things happen and provide food for Hawaii residents,
and for the foresight of the hui
for providing the opportunity
for them to do so.
COVER STORY
Tribute to a Master
of Philippine Music
By Fiedes Doctor
omewhere in upstate New York, a celebrated musical maestro
and a Fil-Am classical guitarist collaborated together to produce an amazing work of Philippine music described as “blending a variety of styles and reflecting a musical microcosm in its
driving indigenous tribal rhythms, traditional folk dances,
chants, lullabies and love songs.”
S
Dubbed “Kanta Filipina,”
the CD collaboration was a powerful journey of discovery and
identity for both music virtuoso
Bayani Mendoza de Leon and
his new student—guitarist
Theresa Calpotura.
De Leon, sometimes referred to as “the man who knows
everything about Filipino music"
brought Calpotura closer to her
Filipino roots, while drawing
him deeper into intimacies with
the guitar’s soul.
Musical Prodigy
De Leon’s music career
started at age two, when he first
tapped the keys of the piano
using his feet. He took formal
lessons at age 4 from his aunt
Charito Mendoza, a conservatory pianist.
At 6, he learned to play the
trumpet and by age 10 gained the
title as the youngest member of
the town band in Penaranda,
Nueva Ecija. At age 12, he tried
his hand on the violin, then the
flute and clarinet, the accordion,
the classical guitar and all the
rondalla instruments.
Next in line were Philippine
indigenous instruments such as
tongali (nose flute), kulintang
(embossed gongs), bunkaka
Bayani Mendoza de Leon and guitarist Theresa Calpotura’s collaboration
(bamboo zither), kuribaw or
kubing (mouth harp), and also
the Indonesian gamelan.
“All these, except the piano,
without a teacher,” says De Leon
who grew up with an innate love
for music. “I had a natural penchant for learning musical instruments. I knew I had an
inborn musical gift but I made
sure to work hard to develop
them to a high level.”
De Leon is a prodigy in the
guitar, trumpet, violin, accordion,
cello, the kulintang and other indigenous instruments and the
noseflute. But it was the flute that
brought him to Mexico, Germany, Israel, Iran and Greece at
age 22 when he joined the Filipinescas Dance Company.
De Leon recounts his audition with amusement: “I wanted
to travel around the world, but at
that time I had never played the
flute. I told them that I was a
flutist but that I had not played for
a year, since I had lost my flute.
They lent me a straight flute and
within two weeks, I learned to
play the instrument. At the rehearsals, they didn't even notice
that I had never been a flutist.”
Maestro Bayani Mendoza de Leon
He later realized that his
destiny was to be a composer
and that his mastery of several
instruments was an important
and necessary stepping stone towards becoming an accomplished composer.
Family of Musicians
Music runs through de
Leon’s veins. His mother Iluminada Mendoza de Leon studied
pharmacy before majoring in
piano and becoming a well
known concert pianist. His father
Felipe Padilla de Leon started off
as a fine arts student before
switching to music and becoming
National Artist in Music in 1997,
as recognition for his significant
contribution to the development
of arts and culture in the Philippines. The award is the highest
national recognition given to Filipino artists.
The elder de Leon was regarded as one of the foremost exponents of nationalism in music.
He figures in the history of
Philippine music as the composer
of the first grand Filipino opera
based on the immortal novel of
Dr. Jose Rizal “Noli Me Tangere.” This was followed by another grand opera based on
Rizal’s other great novel “El Filibusterismo.” ”Although I followed in the footsteps of my
father, I own the distinction of
being the contemporary de Leon
with compositions more aligned
with the modernism of such
world renown contemporary
composers as Bartok, Villalobos,
and Stravinsky, to name a few,”
says Bayani Mendoza de Leon,
recipient of the 2008 Most Outstanding
Filipino-American
Achiever in America Award from
the Filipino Heritage Foundation,
Inc. “My father hews closely to
the traditional musical idiom.”
De Leon’s maternal grandfather, Ladislao Bonus, is known
in Philippine music history as
the composer of the first Filipino
one-act opera called “Sandugong Panaginip” (Dream of
Blood). Eldest brother Felipe Jr.
is an accomplished painter, pianist, arranger and composer. He
was former chairman of the Department of Humanities at the
University of the Philippines and
is currently a Commissioner of
Culture.
Younger brother Tagumpay
heads a rondalla group in Los
Angeles, plays the double bass
with the Filipino Los Angeles
Symphony Orchestra and is a
proficient violinist. He is also a
chemical and electrical engineer.
Another brother, Magdangal,
was a founding member of the
internationally famous U.P.
Madrigal Singers, is an operatic
singer, a choir conductor,
arranger, flutist, guitarist and
now Associate Justice of the
COVER STORY
Federal Appeals Court in the
Philippines.
Younger sister
Luningning, who passed away
last year, was a long-time cellist
with the Manila Symphony Orchestra and a rondalla teacher.
Another sister, Marilag, was a
piano and music education graduate at the University of the East
in Manila, a successful business
woman and is currently the executive director of the World
Pranic Healing Foundation.
The next generation of de
Leons likewise have the same
musical gift, nurtured through
mentors and, of course, by their
father, the virtuoso himself. His
children from his first marriage,
son Lakasnubay and daughter
Sarighani both started playing at
age 5 the violin and the piano,
respectively. Sarighani later tried
her hand on cello at age 9. She
eventually took up music and
major in the cello at the San
Francisco Conservatory of
Music. She now plays with the
Nashville Symphony Orchestra.
His son from his second
marriage, Okir, started violin
also at age 5 while daughter
Amihan started piano at age 4
and a half.
Eclectic Repertoire
De Leon’s repertoire in
music is eclectic but always reflects his Filipino heritage. He is
well-known for his passion in
the rondalla, a native Philippine
string ensemble at the cusp of
extinction. His involvement with
the Filipinescas Dance Company
helped launch his efforts to elevate rondalla as a serious concert
ensemble aside from its traditional role as accompaniment to
folk dancing and singing.
His works in this category include “Bahay-Bata,” which won
an international prize in 1976. He
was director and teacher of several rondalla performances in the
Philippines and the U.S. like the
Samahan Dance Company and
PASACAT Performing Arts Rondalla in San Diego, California;
the Paaralang Pilipino Foundation and U.P. Alumni and Friends
Bayani received the 2008 Most Outstanding Filipino-American Achiever
in America Award in the field of music from the Filipino Heritage Foundation, Inc. based in the tri-state area of NJ, NY, and CT
Rondallas in New Jersey; and the
Foundation for Filipino Artists
Rondalla in New York. He has
arranged around 500 rondalla
pieces, several of which are available on CDs such as “Paskong
Pilipino,” “Mga Bagting ng
Musika,” “Bulalakaw,” “Lawiswis Kawayan” (Rustling Bamboo), “Mga Katutubong Himig”
(Native Airs), “Alaala,” “Himig
Pilipino” (Philippine Airs), and
“Magandang Pilipinas” (Beautiful Philippines).
Worldwide, he has received
accolades for such notable compositions as “Okir,” a flute, harp
and contrabass ensemble utilizing
Maranao and Maguindanao motifs, performed at the La Jolla
Museum of Contemporary Art
and at Schoenberg Hall in 1981;
“Eliksya,” for voices and movements, performed at the California Institute of Arts in 1982;
“Villa Mariquita” at the Wilshire
bells Theatre in Los Angeles in
1985; “Silay Parnaso,” a rhapsody for violin and orchestra, performed at Merkin Hall in 1989;
and “Mga Sugatang Perlas,” a
music-dance staged at Broadway's Town Hall in Manhattan.
His other major works are
“Vertigo,” for clarinet and orchestra and “Anting-Anting”
(Talisman), a contemporary ballet. He has won awards for his
dance drama “The Golden
Earth,” choral drama “Los Penitentes” (The Penitents), choral
portrait “Sisa” and choral legend
“Alamat ng Lupa” (Legend of
the Land).
De Leon’s other masterpieces, a stray from indigenous
sounds, include his futuristic
electronic piece “The Zodiac,”
while “Bacchanalia” has jazz
tones. “Beyond Forgetting” is
romantic and “Krokis” (Rough
Sketch) is described as having a
“harsh, aleatoric nontonalism”
for trumpet, clarinet and trombone. De Leon has hundreds
more musical arrangements of
Philippine folk and indigenous
music, standard classical repertoire, Broadway and opera tunes
and world music for band, rondalla, chorus, various chamber
groups and orchestra.
Passion and Generosity
The man is over 60 but
nowhere near retirement. He is
also a celebrated writer, poet,
folklorist, cultural scholar and
leader, martial arts and yoga
teacher, a spiritual teacher and a
healer using natural forms. At
one point in his life he was a
fruitarian and fasted on liquids
for six months.
“I am on a quest for total
knowledge and I want to understand what life is all about,” de
Leon says. “I don't want to be
lazy. Most people don’t even use
10 percent of what they have. We
have to do justice to it by developing our faculties to the fullest.”
For the youth who wants to
succeed in today's music world,
he has the following advice:
“Perseverance and determination are the keys to developing
talents in music, as well as in any
other fields. Talent doesn’t
amount to anything unless consciously cultivated with hard
work and passion. Also, talent
must be shared because I believe
it’s a gift that is not only meant
for us but meant to be an instrument for imparting joy and
beauty to others.”
A generous and genuine person, de Leon describes himself
as a “planetary archer” and the
earth as his bow.
“I want to know all the mysteries of the universe. My arrow
is aimed at the universe,” he
says.
This is what de Leon has
done in the CD “Kanta Filipina,”
launched last May in San Francisco and presented by the Philippine American Writers and
Artists, Inc., Arkipelago Books &
VGo Recordings. The launching
was Calpotura’s tribute to him for
being instrumental in her growth
not only as a musician but also as
a Filipino-American artist.
“This is a milestone for me,”
says Calpotura. “It made me feel
not so isolated being of mixed
descent, realizing that Filipino
identity itself is mixed because
the music is such a rich combination.”
Another public launching is
De Leon's latest original works
like “Ritwal” (Ritual), toccata
mambayu for guitar quartet;
“Amihan” (Eastern Breeze), passacaglia for guitar orchestra; and
“Batang Laro” (Child Play), a
suite for solo guitar, which will
premiered on August 23-27,
2010 in Manila during the International Guitar Festival.
At the rate he’s going, we
can expect more arrows from the
music master as he continues to
make beautiful music and celebrate our Filipino heritage.
OPINION
On Fiesta (Part 1 of 2)
ROSES & THORNS
By Alejandro R. Roces
iesta is our highest
form of community expression. In
its production, it
exemplifies the
talents and culture
of the Filipino.
The fiesta is Philippine culture
and history in microcosm.
Some fiestas are the story
of the Catholicization of the
Philippines; and the Filipinization of Catholicism. Take for
example, the terpsichorean rituals of the Obando fertility rites.
The roots of that fiesta are deep
in the pagan traditions of the
Philippines. It hearkens back to
the days of our ancestors dancing sacred groves to the anitos
(village or household gods);
praying through the oldest expression of humanity’s connection to the natural world. Our
ancestors prayed for fertility
then. With the coming of
Catholicism, overlaid was the
devotion to three saints, one
after the other. First came the
Virgin Sta. Clara, then San Pascual Baylon (appropriate since
“Baylon” translates as ‘fond of
dancing’) and finally Our Lady
of the Conception. In Jose
Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere Doña
Pia, desiring a child, makes the
journey to dance during the
feast in Obando. The result was
Maria Clara.
In the fiesta we find the Filipino as an artist. For example,
F
in Lucban, during the pahiyas,
we discover that modern art, at
times, is nothing more than calling folk art by a new name. The
leitmotif of the pahiyas is the
kiping, in an explosion of color.
Part of the event is straw dummies dressed in all sorts of attire, what we would term today
an assemblage. The art of
Lucban reflects the colors and
beauty of Nature. In essence,
the pahiyas is folk art as environmental art.
In Marinduque, the masks
used during the Moriones are
painstakingly handcrafted during
the year. The Moriones also references another aspect of our
history; our close ties with Mexico. The Moriones was introduced by a Jesuit from
Cuernavaca, Mexico sometime
in 1859; after the Jesuits were
readmitted to the Archipelago.
The Moriones is the story of
Longinus, the centurion who
speared the side of Jesus Christ
upon the cross. It is the masks
that depict Roman soldiers. The
mask is carved from coral wood,
painted pink or red. It is wideeyed, Roman-nosed, eared, with
a black beard and an open mouth
that resembles a fish’s, topped by
a colorful headdress called turbante. The carving and design of
the masks has evolved over time;
becoming more creative and ornate in its design. Becoming Filipino art.
If the Moriones has a touch
of the carnival spirit to it, the
Ati-Atihan is the closest we
have to the Carnival. It is undoubtedly the most uninhibited
fiesta in the Philippines. In the
Ati-Atihan we find the Filipino
as homo fantasia. The fiesta allows Man’s imagination free
reign; not only in the Ati-Atihan
but any of our festivals. The
Ati-Atihan though is a surrealistic spectacle. The moving
force of the festivity is the unleashed inhibition and imagination of each and every
participant. In the Ati-Atihan
we find the Mad Hatter’s homage to the Santo Nino.
The fiesta is not just our
highest community expression.
It is the repository of our customs and traditions. It is the soul
of the Filipino. Man is homo festivus; always seeking an excuse
to celebrate. Fiestas are their
own excuse for being. It puts the
talents of the Filipino on display;
the Filipino as artist, gourmand,
musician, dancer and host. It is
the veneration of our saints and
the celebration of our Catholicism. The fiesta is the Filipino.
The fiesta is one of the
blocks upon which a commu-
nity is built. There has to be a
folk foundation, a binding
force, upon which the structure
of a nation is built. In other
words, as Nick Joaquin says:
“The local precedes the national; and it’s the town that
gives birth to the nation.” We
look at the fiesta as a local tradition; connected only to its
community. What the fiesta
does is tell the story of localities, and in doing so it tells the
story of the Philippines. The fiesta is living tradition.
(www.philstar.com)
New U.S. Passport Fees Take Effect
July 13
T
etting a U.S. passport
will cost more beginning
July 13, 2010 as the U.S.
Department of State has instituted new processing fees for all
passport services.
The fee for a new passport
has increased to $135 from
$100. Renewing a passport will
cost $110, up from $75.
Passports for minors 16 or
younger will increase to $105,
up from $85.
The additional fee for expedited processing of passport will
remain $60.
Fees for passport cards,
which can be used for crossing
the U.S. border except when
traveling by air, will increase to
$55 for adults and $40 for minors. Renewing a passport card
will cost $30.
In addition, the fee to add
visa pages to a passport, which
used to be free, will increase to
$82.
According to State Department officials, the regular processing time for a passport is
currently four to six weeks. With
expedited processing, including
overnight delivery to and from
the passport agency, the time is
between two to three weeks.
Those who need a passport
can apply at most post offices on
Oahu, the Hawaii State Library,
University of Hawaii-Manoa
Campus Center, Kapiolani Community College, Leeward Community College and the Federal
Building at 300 Ala Moana
Boulevard, Suite I-330.
Please call the Passport Information & Applications office
at 522-8283 if you have questions.
City to Unveil New Tsunami
Evacuation Zone Maps
T
he City’s Department of
Emergency Management (DEM) will continue to unveil the new Tsunami
Evacuation Zone Maps at a series of public information workshops islandwide.
“The new tsunami evacuation maps are of significant importance to our residents and the
safety of their families and prop-
erty,” says DEM director Melvin
Kaku. “We hope that everyone
will take the opportunity to attend a presentation in their community to learn more about the
new evacuation maps.”
Work on the new maps for
Hawaii and Oahu began in 2004
and is a product of the Tsunami
Inundation Mapping Project at
the University of Hawaii-
Manoa. Funds for the mapping
project were provided by a Federal Tsunami Mitigation Grant.
DEM officials will be onhand to present the new maps,
discuss the implications for Oahu
residents and answer questions.
City and County first responders
will also be available to answer
questions from the public.
Draft copies of the maps
will be posted online at
www.oahuDEM.org
Four of DEM’s scheduled 12 workshops have already been held in the Sunset Beach,
Waianae, Nanakuli and Waialua communities. The remaining workshops will run through
August 2010 as scheduled:
WORKSHOPS SCHEDULE FOR JULY
Pearl City to Airport
Halawa District Park
July 19, 2010
Kahe Point to Kalaeloa
Kapolei Hale
July 20, 2010
Kaneohe to Kualoa
Kaneohe District Park
July 21, 2010
Waikiki
Waikiki Elementary
July 26, 2010
Hauula to Kawela
Brigham Young University
July 27, 2010
Niu Valley to Makapuu
Koko Head District Park
July 28, 2010
Waimanalo
Waimanalo District Park
July 29, 2010
Kualoa to Punaluu
Kaaawa Elementary
August 3, 2010
All workshops are from 5:30 pm to 8 pm and open to the public.
IMMIGRATION GUIDE
Suing Arizona - Will It Secede from
Union?
immigration and pre-empted by
the Supremacy Clause.
By Atty. Emmanuel
Samonte Tipon
he Confederate
states
seceded
from the Union
on the issue of
slavery. Will Arizona - and about
17 other states
thinking along the same lines as
Arizona - secede from the Union
on the issue of illegal aliens? The
issue of illegal aliens is more serious than slavery. Abolishing
slavery meant taking away
someone doing a job you wouldn't do. Protecting illegal aliens
means taking away your job.
As the Supreme Court said:
"Employment of illegal aliens in
times of high unemployment deprives citizens and legally admitted aliens of jobs; acceptance
by illegal aliens of jobs on substandard terms as to wages and
working conditions can seriously depress wage scales and
working conditions of citizens
and legally admitted aliens; and
employment of illegal aliens
under such conditions can diminish the effectiveness of labor
unions." De Canas v. Bica, 424
U.S. 351.
Fed up with the deluge of illegal aliens within its borders
and the failure or refusal of the
federal government to stem the
tide, Arizona enacted S.B. 1070
designed "to discourage and
deter the unlawful entry and
presence of aliens". What's
wrong with that? Is that not what
the federal government is doing
or supposed to do? Why is it
angry and sue when somebody
else wants to do the job.
A cartoon in USA Today
07/08/10 sums it best. A man
(marked Arizona) is repeatedly
complaining to a sleeping guy
(marked Washington, D.C.) "illegal immigration," "illegal immigration". There is no reaction.
The complaining man says:
"O.K. I'll write my own immigration law." The sleeping guy
wakes up, shouting: "I'm suing
you."
T
The Lawsuit: Its motive and
logic or illogic
The lawsuit alleges that (1)
the federal government under the
constitution has preeminent authority to regulate immigration
matters, (2) Arizona's law (S.B.
1070) is an immigration law, (3)
therefore Arizona's law is unconstitutional. United States of
America v. State of Arizona and
Janice K. Brewer, Governor.
There are already a number
of private individuals and organizations suing Arizona over S.B.
1070. Why would the federal
government file its own suit. According to USA Today 07/07/10,
perceived as liberal and pro
Obama: "The irony in the Justice
Department's lawsuit to block
Arizona's obnoxious new immigration law is that neither the suit
nor the law would be necessary
if Washington had done its job
enforcing federal immigration
laws in the first place.
"The lawsuit, announced
Tuesday, might allow the Obama
administration to feel righteous,
pretend it's doing something
about the nation's immigration
mess, and appeal to Hispanic
voters ahead of November's congressional elections."
The belief that all Hispanics
support illegal immigration is a
myth and an insult to all lawabiding Hispanics.
Federal Authority over Immigration
The Constitution's Supremacy clause provides: "This
Constitution, and the Laws of
the United States which shall
be made in Pursuance thereof; .
. . shall be the supreme Law of
the Land; " U.S. Const., art. VI,
cl. 2.
The Constitution says that
Congress shall have the power
"to establish an uniform rule of
Naturalization" U.S. Const.,
art. I, § 8, cl. 4, and "to regulate Commerce with foreign
nations." U.S. Const., art. I, §
8, cl. 3.
"But the Court has never
held that every state enactment
which in any way deals with
aliens is a regulation of immigration and thus per se preempted by this constitutional
power, whether latent or exercised." De Canas v. Bica, 424
U.S. 351. Thus, California
Labor Code § 2805 providing
that no employer shall knowingly employ an alien who is
not entitled to lawful residence
in the United States if such employment would have an adverse effect on lawful resident
workers, was upheld against arguments that it was unconstitutional as an attempt to regulate
Is Arizona’s law an immigration law?
Arizona's law provides that
(1) for any lawful stop by a law
enforcement officer, where reasonable suspicion exists that an
individual is an alien and is unlawfully present in the U.S., the
officer must make a reasonable
attempt to determine the individual's immigration status by verifying it with the federal
government; (2) aliens must
carry their alien registration
card; (3) it is a crime to smuggle
aliens; (4) it is a crime for unauthorized and unlawfully present
persons to work; (5) it is a crime
to transport or conceal illegal
aliens; (6) warrantless arrests
may be made of persons committing an offense that renders
such person removable.
An immigration law determines who should or should not
be admitted into the country, and
the conditions under which a
legal entrant may remain. De
Canas v. Bica. Applying this test,
Arizona's statute is not an immigration law. It does not exclude
or deport anybody. It does not
prescribe the conditions under
which aliens in Arizona may remain.
Examples of state laws affecting aliens that have been upheld as valid include: denying
undocumented aliens a driver’s
license (Lulac v. Bredesen, No.
06-5306, (6th Cir. 2007)
http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opi
nions.pdf/07a0341p-06.pdf;
John Doe No. 1 v. Georgia Dep’t
of Public Safety, 147 F. Supp. 2d
1369 (N.D. Ga. 2001)); and
denying undocumented students
enrollment at post secondary institutions (Equal Access Education v. Merten, 305 F. Supp. 2d
585 (E.D. Va. 2004).
Arizona law based on police
power
"States possess broad authority under their police powers
to regulate the employment relationship to protect workers
within the State." De Canas v.
Bica. The Arizona statute is a
valid exercise of the State's police powers.
The De Canas court justified
California's law barring illegal
aliens from jobs, saying that
"California has sought to
strengthen its economy by
adopting federal standards in imposing criminal sanctions
against state employers who
knowingly employ aliens who
have no federal right to employment within the country; even if
such local regulation has some
purely speculative and indirect
impact on immigration, it does
not thereby become a constitutionally proscribed regulation of
immigration that Congress itself
would be powerless to authorize
or approve."
Federal-State cooperation on
immigration
The suit alleges that the Arizona statute conflicts with federal immigration law and
interferes with federal enforcement priorities. A reasonable
person will find it complements
(makes perfect), not conflicts
with, federal immigration law.
In 2005, a unanimous
Supreme Court in Muehler v.
Mena, 544 U.S. 93, upheld the
authority of local police officers
to inquire into the immigration
status of persons who have been
lawfully detained.
The lawsuit itself acknowledges that the federal government receives state and local
cooperation in its enforcement
efforts, such as (1) empowering
state law enforcement authorities
to assist when there is an actual
or imminent influx of aliens requiring immediate federal response, (2) entering into
agreements with states to pro(continued on page 10)
Hanalani Students Win Intl
Robotics Championship
Kahala Properties
Up For Sale
A
ver dream of owning a
house in Kahala? For
many Filipino professionals and investors, the opportunity to “move on up” may be
now as 13 of the 24 properties on
Kahala Avenue owned by Japanese
billionaire
Genshiro
Kawamoto are up for sale.
Kawamoto has allowed native Hawaiian families to reside
on three of his properties, but
most of the remaining homes
and vacant lots are either rundown or overgrown. According
to State Rep. Barbara Marumoto, Kawamoto knocked
down several perimeter walls,
tossed the rubble into swimming pools and then paved
them over.
Vandals broke into some
houses, while several of the million dollar homes were razed.
One property was cited for con-
t the end of an intense,
three-day international
competition, a team of
five students from Hanalani
School in Mililani was named
champion of the International
Botball Tournament held in Edwardsville, Illinois.
Hanalani—whose motto is
“Love God. Love Others.
Challenge Yourself”—competed against 64 teams from
around the globe, including
Kuwait, Poland and teams
from across the U.S. Hanalani
went undefeated as they entered the final rounds of competition and finished number
one in the seeding rounds.
The 2010 Global Conference on Educational Robotics is
an annual event where middle
and high school students, educators, robotics enthusiasts and
professionals gather to connect
with peers, discuss technologyrelated ideas and cheer on their
favorite teams during an exciting autonomous robot tournament called the International
Botball Tournament.
Hanalani won the Hawaii
Regional Botball Tournament
last May, besting 39 other local
teams. During the tournament,
they set a national record for
highest score during seeding
rounds.
Botball engages middle
and high school aged students
in a team-oriented robotics
competition based on national
science education standards.
By designing, building, programming and documenting
autonomous robots, students
use science, engineering, technology, math, and writing
skills in a hands-on project that
reinforces their learning.
Botball is one of six major
educational robotics programs
in the state. Recognizing the
importance of promoting robotics at an early age and sustaining students’ interest in
science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, Hawaii’s six robotics
programs (FIRST Robotics,
Botball, Underwater ROV,
VEX Robotics, Micro Robotics, FIRST LEGO League)
have joined together to form
the Hawaii Robotics Organizing Committee (ROC).
As a critical component of
the Hawaii Innovation Initiative, robotics engages students
in STEM education and provides them with the teamwork,
critical thinking and problemsolving skills they need to
compete in the 21st century
workplace.
E
struction of an illegal seawall.
The City’s Department of Planning & Permitting issued
Kawamoto at least 53 citations
for various violations and initiated liens on at least two lots for
repeated non-compliance.
“Should the homes sell, we
will have new residents in the
neighborhood who will undoubtedly take better care of the
premises,” says Rep. Marumoto. “Please, let prospective
buyers know that there are some
lovely beachfront properties for
sale in Kahala.”
The smallest property,
which totaled 2,241 square feet,
sold earlier this month for $2.25
million. The remaining lots
range in size from 13,500 feet to
35,428 feet and in price from a
low of $1.8 million to a high of
$17.8 million.
For more details on the Kahala Avenue homes, call Rep.
Marumoto at 586-6310.
PHILIPPINE NEWS
Power Back After Typhoon Kills 26
in Philippines
By Helen Flores /
Thursday, July 15, 2010
M
ANILA, Philippines
(AP) — Electricity
was restored in the
Philippine capital, flights resumed and schools reopened
Thursday after the first typhoon of the season killed at
least 26 people and plunged
most of the main northern is-
land into darkness.
Thirty-eight people remained missing, mostly fishermen caught by Typhoon
Conson's fury at sea.
Electricity was restored to
most of Manila and nearby
provinces after Conson, packing
winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, slammed ashore
late Tuesday and early Wednesday, toppling power lines, down-
ing trees and ripping off roofs
and tarpaulin billboards.
Flights at the Manila international airport also resumed
and schools reopened.
Heavy rains, unrelated to the
typhoon, have also wreaked
havoc in China and Japan. The
death toll from rain-triggered
landslides rose to 41 in western
China, and workers raced to
drain overflowing reservoirs in
the southeast. Flooding has
killed more than 100 people in
China so far this month, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
Storm in southern and western Japan left two dead and three
missing.
An elderly woman drowned
in a swollen river and another
woman in her 70s was found
buried in a landslide in Hiroshima, western Japan, according to Hiroshima police. Two
women in their 70s also were
missing there, as was an 82-yearold man in neighboring Shimane
prefecture.
More rain was predicted
Thursday in both Japan and
China. Conson, which weakened
into a tropical storm over the
South China Sea, was forecast to
make another landfall along the
Chinese-Vietnamese border this
weekend.
In the Philippines, many
died while fleeing the typhoon's
fury, regional disaster operations
Pedestrians walk under the beams of a collapsed
crane brought down by strong winds from typhoon ‘Basyang’ at the Sucat Interchange of the
South Luzon Expressway in Parañaque City
officer Fred Bragas said. The 26
deaths were spread over six
provinces and areas near Manila.
Newly elected President Benigno Aquino III scolded the
weather bureau for failing to predict that the storm would hit
Manila, which left government
agencies unprepared for the onslaught.
The Philippines is hit by
about 20 typhoons and storms a
year, gaining a reputation as the
welcome mat for the most destructive cyclones from the Pacific. Last year, back-to-back
typhoons inundated Manila and
outlying provinces, killing
nearly 1,000 people.
Several people were killed
by falling debris or electrocuted.
One man drowned trying to save
a dozen pigs in a swollen lake
south of Manila, while his companion was swept away and is
missing, Bragas said. Twentyseven out of 30 towns in Laguna
province were flooded and the
governor declared a state of
calamity.
A concrete wall collapsed
and pinned four carpenters to
death while a landslide killed a
man in his house in nearby
Tagaytay city. The man's son remains missing in the landslide,
Bragas said.
In Quezon province, four
fishermen drowned and 18 others were rescued after huge
waves and strong winds battered
their motor boats as they raced
toward an island to seek shelter
late Tuesday, provincial Gov.
David Suarez told The Associated Press. (www.philstar.com)
SOCIETY PAGE
Dr. Noli Zosa with wife Nena of California visiting
Hawaii recently
The Lao Family: Chef Rean with his wife Bonafe
and only child Frankie during a family gathering in
Pearl City
Congratulations to Christa Lei Sonido who recently graduated from Punahou School. Shown here (L to R) Pennylyn Biniek, Christa Lei, Erlinda
Sonido, Nellie Somera and Nena Sarmiento
Seated l-r: Geraldine Nakamura, Margie Minson, Erlinda Velasco. Standing: Jackie
Saganuma, Lynn Nicholas, Becky, Lynda Dybdall-Fadale, Lorelei Felipe, April WongWarling, and Terri Leong, taken at the farewell party for Becky Klungresetter, HMC
West Chief Nursing Officer who recently went back home to Kansas.
Mercy and Carme Langcay, mother and
daughter bonding in Waikiki during the
4th of July celebration
Lawrence Pagulayan with his grandaparents Rudy and Clarita Pagulayan
during his Pre-School graduation ceremony
WHAT’S COOKING
Sesame crispy puffs with tofu light dip
A Crispy, Crunchy Tofu Snack
SESAME CRISPY PUFFS WITH
TOFU LIGHT DIP
ANILA, Philippines - Maya
All-Purpose
Flour is ideal for
a wide range of
cooking
and
baking applications such as specialty breads,
cakes, pastries and cookies. The
enriched and pre-sifted flour can
also be used as batters, sauces and
thickeners. Maya All-Purpose
Flour is available in 25-kilogram
(for large institutional users), 4kilogram, 2-kilogram, 800-gram,
400-grams and 120-gram packs.
Maya All-Purpose Flour has
a low ash content that translates
M
into a whiter color, finer texture
and increased volume. Its highprotein content results in better
flour absorption that leads to
greater yield.
All Maya products are given
the technical assistance and customer service of the Maya
Kitchen Culinary Arts Center. It
offers cooking and baking
classes, performs cooking
demonstrations,
develops
recipes, publishes cookbooks,
conducts sampling sessions and
answers queries on culinary matters. For information, visit
www.themayakitchen.com.
(www.philstar.com)
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Maya All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsps canola oil
3 tbsps water
egg white, for brushing
1 tsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp brown sesame seeds
canola oil for frying
Tofu light dip:
125 g tofu firm, chopped
1/2 cup yogurt, low fat
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pc small white onion, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp spring onion
parsley, chopped
PROCEDURE:
In a bowl combine all-purpose flour and salt.
Alternately mix oil and water until well blended
or until it forms a dough. Using a rolling pin, roll
dough until paper-thin, then brush with little egg
whites and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cut dough
into rectangles approximately 3x1-inch then fry
in medium-hot oil until puffy and golden brown.
Drain on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Prepare dip: Combine all dip ingredients in a
blender except parsley, then blend until smooth.
Serve sesame crisps with tofu dip. Garnish with
parsley.
PHILIPPINE NEWS
PET Orders Binay to Answer
Mar Roxas Protest in 10 Days
By Edu Punay /
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
M
ANILA, Philippines - The Presidential Electoral Tribunal
(PET) yesterday ordered Vice
President Jejomar Binay to answer the
electoral protest of his closest rival, former
Sen. Manuel Roxas II.
Binay was required to submit his comment on the protest seeking to nullify his
proclamation and instead declare Roxas
winner in the election by ordering a recount
that would include some three million
votes nullified by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), according to Supreme
Court spokesman Midas Marquez.
The Vice President is given 10 days to
comply with the order to be sent by lawyer
Ma. Luisa Villarama, SC clerk of court and
PET ex-officio secretary.
Chief Justice Renato Corona, chair of
the tribunal, directed the PET secretariat to
send the summons to Binay after finding
the protest of Roxas “sufficient in form and
substance,” according to Marquez.
“The PET will see the counter claims
of Vice President Binay and if he will raise
a counter protest before setting the case for
preliminary conference,” Marquez explained.
He stressed that the resolution of the
protest of Mr. Roxas against Vice President
Binay could “possibly be faster” as compared to previous protests in manual elections.
“This is faster because the PET no
longer has to go through each of the ballots
and scrutinize handwriting, for example.
But it still depends on the comment and
counter comments of both parties,” he said.
As for the reported plan of President
Aquino to appoint his running mate to a
Cabinet post after the one-year ban on appointment of losing candidates, Marquez
said there is no jurisprudence yet on such
a case.
He said previous PET cases only covered protestants who joined elections so
their pending protests then were junked by
the tribunal for abandonment of their
protests.
The protest that was filed last Friday
is hinged on the three million votes that
were declared null by the Comelec.
Roxas, through his lawyers, alleged
that election results used for Binay’s
proclamation did not reflect actual votes
due to what he described as “anomalously
high incidence” of null and misread votes
in the certificates of canvass in all
precincts nationwide and especially in his
bailiwicks, Regions 6, 7 and the Caraga
Region.
Roxas believes that he should have
won the election if only the Comelec
counted the null votes, which supposedly
largely belong to him and would have
made him overtake the final 727,084-vote
advantage of Binay.
He also alleged that there were fraud,
anomalies, irregularities and statistical improbabilities in certain clustered precincts
in the Autonomous Region in Muslim
Mindanao.
Apart from recount, Roxas has also
asked the PET to create a technical panel
of independent experts that would conduct
a comprehensive, system-wide forensic
analysis of the country’s first automated
election system. (www.philstar.com)
IMMIGRATION GUIDE (cont.)
(from page 7, Suing Arizona...)
vide training and supervision in the investigation, apprehension, and detention of
aliens, and (3) authorizing state and local
law enforcement authorities to arrest aliens
unlawfully present who were previously
removed after being convicted of a felony.
Is Arizona’s law unconstitutional?
Based on the foregoing analysis, you
can now decide if Arizona's law is unconstitutional and how the courts will rule.
Arizona has a track record of winning
challenges to its laws touching on illegal
immigration. Do not assume that all federal judges are so terrified of the President
that they will automatically rule for the
government. There are also federal judges
with cojones. This is not the Philippines.
Recently, a federal judge in Louisiana
blocked President Obama's six-month ban
on new offshore drilling in deep water,
saying that the administration improperly
assumed that since one rig failed all deepwater wells present an "imminent danger." USA Today, 06/23/10.
As for me, I will consult with Paul
the psychic octopus. It has accurately
predicted the results of the World Cup
soccer games.
(ATTY. TIPON has a Master of Laws degree from Yale Law School and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of
the Philippines. He practices in Hawaii,
specializing in immigration law and criminal defense. Tel. (808) 225-2645. E-Mail:
[email protected]. Website: www.ImmigrationServicesUSA.com. He is from
Laoag City and Magsingal, Ilocos Sur. He
served as an Immigration Officer. He is
co-author of “Immigration Law Service,
1st ed.” an 8-volume practice guide for
immigration officers and lawyers. Listen
to the most funny, witty, and useful radio
program in Hawaii on KNDI at 1270, AM
dial every Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. and on
KHBC at 1060, AM dial every Thursday
at 8 p.m. This article is a general overview
of the subject matter discussed and is not
intended as legal advice. No warranty is
made by the writer or publisher as to its
completeness or correctness at the time of
publication.)
PHILIPPINE NEWS
2 More Activists Killed
By Paolo Romero /
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
M
ANILA, Philippines Unexplained killings
continue as two more
activists – a public school
teacher and a farmer – fell to assassins’ bullets in Masbate and
Nueva Ecija over the weekend,
flouting the Aquino administration’s declaration of an all-out
war against murderers of activists and journalists.
Mark Francisco, a member
of the party-list group ACT
Teachers and a teacher at the
San Isidro Elementary School
in Palanas town in Masbate,
was on his way home on a motorcycle along with four other
teachers who were also on motorcycles when gunned down
by two men in ski masks last
Friday at 5 p.m. Francisco, 27,
died instantly.
The gunmen, armed with
M-16 rifles, also tried to kill
one of Francisco’s companions
but he was able to escape and
report the murder, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio
Tinio said.
In Nueva Ecija, 78-yearold peasant leader Pascual
Guevarra of the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association
and
the
Alyansa
ng
Magsasakang Nagkakaisa was
shot in the chest by an unidentified man who barged into his
house in Barangay San Isidro
in Laur.
Injured in the attack was
Guevarra’s 18-year-old grandson Ronald Viloria. Guevarra
was declared dead on arrival at
the Bongabon District Hospital.
After his first command
conference with the Philippine
National Police (PNP), President Aquino said those responsible for the killings would be
punished, but noted that several of the murders – mostly
triggered by personal disputes
– had already been solved.
“We’ll see to it that there
will be convictions. The PNP
has also indicated that local
politics triggered a lot of these
killings,” he said.
“It’s (political assassination) not a policy of the administration,” he told reporters in a
briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.
But he said he had directed
PNP chief Director General
Jesus Verzosa to get to the bottom of the cases.
“Our commitment, and
that of the armed forces, is to
remove the difference between
law enforcers breaking the law
and simple lawbreakers,” Mr.
Aquino said in Filipino.
He also called on members
of the military and PNP to observe human rights.
Condemnation
ACT’s Tinio said Francisco’s colleagues should be
given police protection, citing
the assailants’ attempt to kill at
least one of them.
“We condemn the brutal
murder of public school
teacher Mark Francisco. We
demand justice for our fellowteacher and party-member,”
Tinio said.
ACT said Francisco had
actively campaigned for the
party-list group during the last
election.
Tinio urged the Department of Education to work
with the PNP and with local
government authorities in extending police protection to the
teachers who survived the at-
1 Million Pinoys Give Up
Job Hunt
By Mayen Jaymalin /
M
ANILA, Philippines - Believing they will never find
employment, at least a million jobless Filipinos have quit looking
for work.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz
said these unemployed but capable
workers are now classified as “discouraged workers” after the country
adopted a new definition of unemployment to conform to international labor
standards.
“Our new government is now looking at ways to address the needs of this
group,” Baldoz said.
Discouraged workers are defined
as jobless people available for work,
but are not actively seeking employment.
Baldoz said the number of unem-
ployed went down dramatically since
the adoption of the new definition in
2005.
She said the Department of Labor
and Employment (DOLE) is also
working on various programs to solve
the prevailing skills mismatch among
workers.
Baldoz said jobseekers have difficulty finding jobs because they possess skills that are not needed by
companies.
“At this time, it take months or almost a year for employers to find the
right workers to fill in vacancies in
their companies and the situation
could even get worse unless the mismatch problem is properly addressed,”
said Criselda Sy, director of DOLE’s
Bureau of Local Employment (BLE).
She said DOLE is now coordinating with the Department of Education,
Commission on Higher Education and
other concerned agencies to find a solution to the problem. (www.philstar.com)
tack and who may be tapped as
witnesses.
Tinio pointed out that there
had been a spate of violence
targeting teachers in Palanas,
Masbate.
He noted that three days
before the murder of Francisco,
another public school teacher
in Palanas was attacked but
luckily
escaped.
Dexter
Legazpi, 36, was on a motorcycle on the way to school with
his wife on the morning of July
6 when five men, also in ski
masks and military uniforms,
shot at them. Legazpi, also a
member of ACT party-list, was
able to speed away to safety on
his motorcycle.
“Government must immediately take steps to put an end
to the violence faced by teachers in Palanas town. The
Aquino government’s ability to
ensure the well-being and
safety of its citizens is being
put to the test,” said Tinio.
Francisco is the third member of a militant party-list
group to be killed within the
first 10 days of President
Aquino’s term. On July 5,
Bayan Muna-Aklan provincial
coordinator Fernando Baldomero was gunned down by
motorcycle-riding men in
Lezo, Aklan.
Tinio pointed out that during the campaign period, ACT
Teachers party had been a target of a vilification campaign,
along with other progressive
party-list groups such as Bayan
Muna,
Gabriela
and
Anakpawis.
“We were routinely tagged
as communist and New People’s Army front organizations
by the military during the campaign period and some of our
members and supporters were
harassed and threatened. Now,
they are being attacked, and
one of them killed,” Tinio said.
“These murders show that
the extrajudicial killing of activists continues to take place
under the new dispensation of
President Aquino,” he said.
“It’s only been a few days,
yet the death toll is already rising. We expect nothing less
than an end to impunity from
this new government. President Aquino must direct the
necessary government resources to ensuring that the
perpetrators of these three murders are caught, tried and punished,”
said
Tinio.
(www.philstar.com)
PHILIPPINE NEWS
Taiwanese Traders to Invest in RP Exports Post 37.3
By Mayen Jaymalin /
M
ANILA, Philippines
- More local jobs
may soon be available to Filipino jobseekers as
several Taiwanese businessmen
have expressed a desire to invest in the country, a recruitment official said yesterday.
Jackson Gan, Pilipino
Manpower Agencies Accredited to Taiwan (PILMAT), said
many Taiwanese businessmen
are interested in putting up factories and other establishments
here although they are hampered by the country’s strict
laws.
Gan urged the Aquino administration to look into possible legal remedies that would
allow foreigners to own land
that they would use in setting
up their business here.
“Many Taiwanese factories
in China are now slowly closing down due to problems with
workers and foreign exchange
laws of China which disallow
flight of capital investment or
remittance of profits and this
could mean opportunity for the
Philippines,” he said.
He urged the government to
ease the requirements like minimum capital investment of
$500,000 and no less than 20
workers to be hired locally.
Gan noted that the country
has a special investment rule allowing residency for foreigners
who hire 10 or more Filipinos
in setting up business establishments or factories. He said the
Account Surplus to Augur
Well for RP
By Paolo Romero /
M
ANILA, Philippines
(Xinhua) - The
Philippines' current
account surplus of $1.8 billion
in the first quarter will help the
country cushion any possible
impact of financial crisis in the
Euro zone, the World Bank said
today.
In its latest issue of the
Philippine Quarterly Update, the
World Bank said the country has
a healthy external position and
its banks are conservative in
their lending, funding, and investment strategies.
"(The Philippine banks)
have low loan-to-deposit ratios
so that they have limited reliance on external wholesale
funding markets," World Bank
said, adding that the loan-todeposit ratios indicate the
bank's capacity to fuel its own
growth and cushion itself
against sudden withdrawals.
A surplus in the current account is significant in that it
will strengthen the country's
economic defenses against such
threats as the debt problems of
some countries in the European
Union, the World Bank said.
In contrast, Canada and the
United States have posted current account imbalances.
(www.philstar.com)
Aquino administration should
adopt new investment rules that
are less bureaucratic.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda
Baldoz said the new government is now looking at different
measures to encourage more
foreign investors to put up businesses here and generate local
jobs here.
“To encourage more foreign investors, we need to ensure that we have available
skills, a flexible work scheme
and that our existing wage is
competitive. We are now addressing this issues,” Baldoz
said. (www.philstar.com)
Percent Growth in May
By Donnabelle Gatdula /
M
ANILA, Philippines
(Xinhua) - Philippines' export revenues rose 37.3 percent to $4.2
billion in May as global recovery spurs demand for electronics, the National Statistics
Office (NSO) said yesterday.
Aggregate merchandise
exports from January to May
2010 also increased on year by
38.7 percent to $19.2 billion.
Electronics was the coun-
try's top export revenue earner
and accounted for 60.3 percent
of total export revenues in
May. Shipment of electronic
products raked in $2.5 billion,
up 42.5 percent on year. Other
top export products like garments, coconut pil and furniture also posted higher
revenues.
The United States, Japan,
China and Singapore were the
top export markets of the
Philippines
in
May.
(www.philstar.com)
World-class Robots to
Compete in RP
By Donnabelle Gatdula /
M
ANILA, Philippines - Filipino robotics enthusiasts
are in for a double treat with
the 9th Philippine Robotics
Olympiad (PRO) and the
World Robotics Olympiad
2010 (WRO), which will be
held in the country.
During the launch of the
PRO at the Quezon City Science Interactive Center, Mylene Abiva, national organizer
of PRO, revealed that, after
three tries, the WRO advisory
committee has finally chosen
the Philippines to host this
year’s
World
Robotics
Olympiad.
Abiva, president and
CEO of Felta Multimedia
Inc., said, “Not only are we
able to offer our Filipino students through the PRO an opportunity to expand their
horizons by the exploration of
robots and robotic systems in
schools, we are also able to
promote the Philippines as an
emerging technology hub in the
Asia-Pacific and that is through
the WRO.”
This year, Abiva said they
are expecting over 300 public
and private schools nationwide
to participate in the PRO slated
on Sept. 10, where the grand
awardees will get to represent
the Philippine team in the World
Robotics Olympiad, which is
scheduled on Nov. 6 at the
SMX Convention Center,
where more than 1,200 foreign
students and coaches are expected to participate.
“And we are quite confident that the Philippine team
will make the country proud
this year,” she said.
In creating the robot models for the competition, participants use LEGO Robotics,
which can be manipulated using
an NXT or RCX brick, a microcomputer that serves as the
brain of Robolab inventions.
Participants also use computers to design a program with
command icons, which is transferred to the NXT/RCX brick
via Bluetooth technology,
where the robots are commanded to move in various
ways through a designated
field of challenges.
“Through these challenging and educational robot
competitions,” Abiva said,
“we are able to hone the youth
to be the future scientists, engineers and inventors, by developing their creativity and
problem-solving skills.”
Aside from the Science
Education Institute of the Department of Science and
Technology and the Department of Education, PRO is
also supported by SM, Karate
Kid, A-Z direct, McKesters
and the Asia Pacific College.
For more details, call Coni
Peralta at 912-1397, e-mail at
[email protected] or visit
www.felta.ph.(www.philstar.com)
LEGAL NOTES
Visa for Returning Residents
By Reuben S. Seguritan
lawful permanent
resident
(LPR)
who goes abroad
must come back to
the U.S. within a
year in order to
maintain his/her
status. If the LPR intends to be
outside the U.S. for more than a
year, a reentry permit must be
secured.
A reentry permit is obtained
by filing Form I-131 with the
USCIS before departure. It is
valid for 2 years.
A
If the LPR remains abroad
for more than a year or beyond
the validity of the reentry permit, he/she may be considered
as having abandoned his/her
permanent resident status. To
enter the U.S. and resume permanent residence a new immigrant visa will be needed.
An immigrant visa requires
an approved immigrant visa petition based on family relationship or employment. But there
is a law that provides for another option. The returning resident may obtain a special
immigrant returning resident
(SB-1) visa.
To qualify for this returning
resident visa, the LPR has to
prove that he/she was a lawful
permanent resident at the time
of departure from the U.S. and
that he/she intended at that time
to return and has not abandoned
such intention.
In addition, the returning
resident has to show that the
protracted stay abroad was due
to circumstances beyond his/her
control and for which he/she
was not responsible.
The State Department has
recently issued guidelines for
the processing of the application. The guidelines cover
where to file the DS-117 (Application to determine returning
resident status), how to process
such applications, and how to
create a permanent denial
record.
The DS-117 must be accompanied by the green card or
reentry permit, if available. The
applicant must document the
dates of travel outside the U.S.,
ties to the U.S., and intention to
return to the U.S. The applicant
must also prove that the protracted stay abroad was for reasons beyond his/her control.
Intention to return may be
proven by tax returns and evidence of economic, family and
social ties to the U.S. Dates of
travel may be documented by
airline tickets and passport
stamps.
Examples of reasons why
the protracted stay was beyond
his/her control are medical incapacitation, employment with
a U.S. company, and accompanying a U.S. citizen spouse.
A consular officer will conduct a personal interview of the
applicant to determine if the
DS-117 is approvable. If it is
approved the officer will open
a case in Immigrant Visa Overseas (IVO). If it is denied, the
DS-117 application and all supporting documents and notes
will be entered in the file.
Upon approval of the DS117, the returning resident will
proceed with an application for
SB-1 immigrant visa. At the interview he/she will be subjected
to medical and security screenings that apply to all immigrant
visa cases.
REUBEN S. SEGURITAN has been
practicing law for over 30 years. For
further information, you may call him
at (212) 695 5281 or log on to his website at www.seguritan.com
MAINLAND NEWS
Teachers Group Receives Top Award Djou Supports Bills to
A
n association of Filipino teachers based in
Louisiana received a
prestigious award from the
American Federation of Teachers (AFT), an education labor
union with almost one million
members.
The Filipino Educators
Federation of Louisiana (FEFL)
was bestowed the President’s
International Democracy Award
at the annual AFT convention in
Seattle, Washington on July 9,
2010. Created two years ago,
the award highlights the continuing struggle for human rights
around the world.
Convention attendees paid
tribute to Filipino educators
who stood up against the illegal
and demeaning tactics used by
the firm that recruited them to
work in U.S.
FEFL organized Filipino
migrant teachers against the alleged abuses of recruitment
agency Universal Placement In-
ternational (UPI) and its
Philippine-based counterpart, PARS International.
With the help of the
AFT and other labor
groups, the efforts of the
Filipino teachers resulted in initial legal victories, including a
decision by the Louisiana
Workforce Commission that ordered UPI to refund up to $1.8
million in fees to the teachers.
Three years ago, Cruz and
about 300 Filipino teachers
were flown to Louisiana for
jobs which, their recruiter
promised, would give them a
salary of $40,000 annually.
The Filipinos protested inflated fees, commissions and
rents that their recruiter tried to
collect from them in return for
their U.S. work visas.
In her acceptance speech,
FEFL president Ingrid Jomento-Cruz said AFT helped
Curb Govt Spending
U
The Filipino Educators Federation
of Louisiana
them revisit the Filipino tradition of “bayanihan.”
“It is the old tradition of
neighbors helping a relocating
family by getting enough volunteers to literally carry the
house on their shoulders and
move it to a new and better location. And believe it or not, the
act is done with a happy, festive
disposition. We can clearly see
the heroes in the community
collectively work and sacrifice
for each other. In essence,
bayanihan is all but one with the
spirit of unionism.” (Good News
Pilipinas)
.S. Rep. Charles K.
Djou (HI-01) has
signed two measures
that would help in the fight
against wasteful government
spending by allowing a line-item
veto for the president.
The bills are H.R. 5454, introduced by U.S. Rep. John
Spratt (D-SC), House Budget
Committee chair, and H.R.
1294, introduced by U.S. Rep
Paul Ryan (R-WI), ranking
member of the House Budget
Committee.
Djou says that in meetings
with constituents during his
most recent visit home, the top
concern was “reckless and runaway federal spending in Washington.”
“Government is simply
spending too much money on
programs that aren’t working
and that government has no way
to pay all the money back,” Djou
says. “We need more private
sector jobs, not more public sector programs. Giving the president the power to target specific
provisions of spending bills will
promote the kind of fiscal restraint that the American people
want.”
Djou will work to move
(continued on page 15)
PHILIPPINE LANGUAGE
Saan A Malipatan Ti America Ken
Filipinas Ti Julio 4
DAYASADAS
By Pacita C. Saludes
apateg
ken
nakallalagip nga
aldaw ti Julio 4 iti
Filipinas
ken
America gapu ta
kadagiti nagkauna
a tawtawen, daytoy
a petsa ti PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY agingga ti
indeklalar met laeng ti America
a “Philippine FRIENDSHIP
DAY”. Maselebraran met a
siraragsak kadagiti adu a palpalibong ken masindian a luses
iti Waikiki ken amin a
nakallalagip a disso a
panglagip iti daytoy nga aldaw.
Adu met dagtiti mangipateg iti daytoy tapno di malipatan dagiti nakallalagip nga
aldawda, kas kadagiti agkasar
ken agpabuniag tapno no
madanon daytoy a petsa ken
bulan ti tawen malagipda met
dagiti napateg nga aldawda.
Di met malipatan ti
ANNAK TI KAILOKUAN ITI
AMERICA a daytoy ti aldaw a
pannakaorganisarna. Napateg
daytoy nga aldaw nga isu ti
itataud ti grupo dagiti
N
ILOKANOS ditoy Estado.
Julio 4, 1986 ti pannakaorganisar ti AKA babaen ti
panangilongalong
tayo.
Nagsapata tayo nga aramidentayo daytoy a pangidasig ken
pangipakita a dagiti Ilokanos
ditoy America adda met pannakabalinda a mangipakita iti
kabaelan kan pannangitan-ok ti
bukodda a puli. Nagdarang
daytoy kadagiti adu a tawen
babaen ti ilulungalong. Idasdasarda a panagpiesta ti
KAILOKUAM kas mangipakita ti kultura a tradision ken
kabaelan ni Ilokano a mangurnos dadagiti kabaelanna a
mangtaginayon kadagiti KINAILOKANODA
a
kas
kadagiti sabsabali nasnasyon.
Naawis pay ti dayagna kadagiti
Ilokanos iti “main” America
tapno makikanunongda kadagiti gandat daytoy a grupo. Kinanunungan daydi LEGAL
ADVISOR Atty. Peter Aduja ti
pannakainaganna a kas “SONS
AND DAUGHTERS OF
ILOKANOS IN AMERICA”.
Nagbalin a maysa kadagiti aktibo a grupo a sakupen ti
OFCC.
Naaweng ti gandatna a
mangidasar
ti
“KINAILOKANO” ti aramid,
kababalin, ken kangrunaanna ti
panagsao. Dagiti tradision ken
kultura, mangin-inuten a malipatan dagiti kaaduan nga
Ilokano iti America. Kangrunaan ti napateg a pannakaurnong dagiti nauneg ti tugotna
nga Ilokanos iti pagilian ken
ditoy gangannaet nga ayantayo. Adun a tawen manipud
idi naorganisar ti AKA, ket agtultuloy latta ti dayagna nupay
adu met dagiti mauma.
Malagip tayo kadi nga adu
met datiti tattao a mangipateg
ti ti kina ILOKANONA a saan
laeng a ti kinaisangsangayan a
bigbigenna?
NAGSAPATA DAGITI OPISYALES
TI AKA
Julio 4, 2010 alas ocho iti
rabii idi pagsapataen ni Atty.
Melodie Aduja dagiti opisyales
ti AKA para iti tawen 20102012. Presidente Pacita Cabulera Saludes a sidadaan a
magipasublat iti asino man a
naanep ken mangituloy ti gandat a nakabuklan ti AKA.
Umona a Bise - Emerita Espiritu; maikadua a bise - Fely
Cristobal; Secretaria - Letty
Bayudan; katulongan a sekretaria- Lina Jacobe; TesoreraAlbina Gamponia; Auditor -
Officers of AKA installed by Atty. Melodie Aduja, July 4th 2010 at Denny's
Restaurant
Lilia del Rosario; PRO - Dolores Tabion ken Jennifer Dalmacio; BUS Mgr. - Andrea
Mendoza ken Josie Takamoto;
Sargento de Armas - Florencio
Dagupion, John Espiritu, Trely
Paulino; Chair of the Board Cirvalina Longboy; Mamagbaga - Roland ken Edith Pascua; Spiritual Advisor - Pastor
Jerry Saludes; Legal Advisor Atty. Melodie Aduja.
NAGKARI MET DAGITI MANGITURTURONG TI GH (OPISIALES
TI GH)
Nagkari
met
dagiti
opisyales a mangiturong ti
GUMIL HAWAII
Gloria Raquedan – Chair;
Roland Pascua – Vice;
Maikadua a Bise - Rita Sagucio; Sekretaria - Lilia del
Rosario; Katulongan a Sekretaria - Josie Takamoto, Tresurera - Tessie Fagarang;
Katulongan a Tesorer - Andrea
Mendoza; PRO- Dolores
Tabion ken Jennifer Dalmacio;
Business Manager – Amy Espiritu, Fely Cristobal, Rosendo
Raquedan; Sargento de Armas
- Tino Bilan ken John Espiritu;
Mamagbaga - Edith Pascua,
Pacita Saludes; Espiritual Adviser - Rev. Jerry Saludez;
Legal Adviser - Atty. Melodie
Aduja.
TI PROGRAMA
Kabayatan ti pannangan,
nagtuloy met ti ragragsak
babaen ti panangiwanwan ni
Lilia del Rosario, Josie
Takamoto ken Albina Gamponia, Nagsala ti Hula ni Fely
Cristobal. Naipatayab dagiti
Iloko a kankanta babaen dagiti
kumakanta ti AKA ken Dramatista, Nagkompaniar met iti
silindro ni Trely Paulino ken
nagdaniw met ni Gloria Raquedan. Naala dagiti ladawan ket
nagtultuloy ti program agingga
iti alas dies ti rabii. Good
Luck!
C LASSIFIED A DS
‘97 BUICK LE-SABRE SILVER GREAT COND.
No Rust, No Leak, $2,200 ONLY!
Call 678-0870 Day Only
HELP WANTED
LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE / GARDENER
Experienced, with References, Conscientious and SelfMotivated only; Knowledge of plants and their care. Preferred Ilocano/ English Speaking, Full Time, Start $10.00/
hr. with Excl. Benefits-- Free Medical/Dental and Vision;
Vacation Pay, Paid Holidays and Sick Leave. 30+ year
old company. Call 486-0111
BIG ISLAND LAND FOR SALE
The Big Island, Fern Forest, $1000 down
$400 per month, 10% int.
$35,000 an 3 acre lot
Bob Riley, Realtor,
Hawaii Land Realty,
959 1117, or 895-3434, [email protected]
B USINESS
D IRECTORY
NEW THRIFT STORE KALIHI
Large Collection Of Military Camouflage Clothing. Shirts
$7.99 Pants $10.99
Quantity Discounts Available.
1327 N. School St., near Houghtailing
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS WANTED
Experience preferred, Please submit writing samples or
published works and resume to [email protected]
C OMMUNITY C ALENDAR
KUMU KAHUA THEATREÊS ANNUAL
KĀLĀ-BASH FUNDRAISER AND SILENT
AUCTION / SATURDAY
July 24, 2010 ● Kumu Kahua Productions
● Park outside the theatre at 46 Merchant
Street, in Downtown Honolulu ● 5 - 9 pm ●
For more information or to purchase tickets,
call 536-4222
MISS HAWAII FILIPINA PAGEANT /
SATURDAY
July 24, 2010 ● Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa, Lahaina, Maui ● Contact
person: Atty. Herman Andaya at 808870-3045
COVO 23RD ANNUAL STATEWIDE
CONVENTION / SATURDAY
Iwilei ● 6 - 11:30 pm ● $45 per person ●
Contact: Jun Colmenares, 485-0390
ANNUAL COVO PICNIC / SUNDAY
August 15, 2010 ● Keehi Lagoon Park,
Honolulu ● 10 am - 4 pm ● Contact:
Richard Ancog at 383-3691 or Erwin
Gabrillo at 282-4186
BALAAN CATALINA SOCIETY
80TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
/ SATURDAY
August 14, 2010 ● Philippine Consulate General, Pali Highway ● 8 - 4 pm
● Contact: Richard Ancog, 383-3691
July 24, 2010 ● Dinner: Balaan Catalina
Society Clubhouse, Waipahu ● 5:00 pm Mass; 6:00 pm ● Contact: Erwin Gabrillo
282-4186
UP ALUMNI ASSOCIATION (HAWAII
CHAPTER) BIENNIAL BANQUET AND
INSTALLATION OF NEW OFFICERS /
SATURDAY
5TH LAPU-LAPU AWARDS DINNER &
GALA / SATURDAY
August 28, 2010 ● Hale Koa Hotel ●
Contact: Alma B. Phocas at (808) 7541399 or email [email protected];
[email protected]
August 14, 2010 ● Dole Ballrooms at
GLOBAL NEWS
Indonesian Officials Arrest Filipina for
Smuggling 2.5 Kilograms of Heroin
D
ENPASAR (Xinhua) - Indonesian customs officials
stationed at the Denpasar international airport arrested today a
Filipino woman who tried to smuggle heroin weighs 2.5 kilograms
worth about $797,000 to Indonesia's
leisure island of Bali.
The 41 year-old woman, namely
Carolina Sarmiento Bautista, was arrested at the airport after the customs
official suspected an unusual object
at her briefcase when the briefcase
was screened with X Ray.
"We saw a thick orange layer inside the briefcase that indicates organic content underneath the layer,"
Carolina Sarmiento covers her face after
a press conference at the Ngurah Rai airport customs office in Bali on Tuesday.
Bambang Wahyudi, Head of Customs office at the airport said.
Bambang said that he immediately told his subordinates to undertake thorough search over the
briefcase and eventually found two
plastic bags of heroin wrapped with
aluminum foil that concealed inside
the briefcase layers.
Carolina arrived in Denpasar International airport directly from
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, today.
According to her initial testimony, she was offered to bring in
those drugs to Bali by an Indian man.
In return, she will be paid some
$1,000 if she were successful.
If she were proved guilty in the
court proceeding, Carolina could
face death penalty for violating Indonesia anti drug law No. 35/2009.
(www.philstar.com)
Filipino Welfare Case Officer Jailed in
Riyadh for OFWs Death
M
ANILA, Philippines--The
wife of a welfare case officer of the Philippine embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has
appealed to migrant workers' rights
group based in Middle East for the
immediate release of her husband
from detention.
Bing Ayob, wife of Bahay
Kalinga officer in charge Bashir
Ayob, sought the help of Kapatiran
sa Gitnang Silangan to intervene
and communicate with the embassy
officials regarding his husband's
case, according to Migrant-Middle
East regional director John Monterona.
Mrs. Ayob initially told KGSMigrante chairman Eric Jocson that
her husband has been arrested last
June 12, 2010 while attending a
repatriation proceedings of an overseas Filipino worker.
Saudi police nabbed the 47-
year-old Filipino welfare officer
after reportedly being implicated in
the death of another OFW at the
Shemesy Hospital in Riyadh last
May 22, according to Mrs. Ayob.
Bashir was earlier invited for
questioning regarding the OFW's
death but was later cleared by Saudi
authorities on June 10, she added.
Mr. Ayob, who have worked for
the Philippine embassy since 2006,
is now detained at Al Dhera Detention Center of the Criminal Investigation department in Riyadh.
(www.philstar.com)
MAINLAND NEWS
(from page 13, Djou...)
government in the direction of fiscal responsibility and accountability and with colleagues on
both sides of the aisle who realize that the current spending in Congress is unsustainable.
H.R. 5454, the “Reduce Unnecessary Spending Act of 2010,” was introduced by U.S. Rep.
Spratt and has 20 Democrat co-sponsors. Djou is
the first and only Republican co-sponsor. The bill
increases the power of policy makers to eliminate
wasteful spending through a procedure known as
expedited rescission.
H.R. 1294, the “Congressional Accountability and Line-Item Veto Act of 2009,” was introduced by U.S. Rep. Ryan, along with companion
legislation in the Senate by senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ). The bill
creates a line-item veto to target wasteful earmarks, improve congressional accountability and
deter lawmakers from inserting “frivolous spending into future bills. It also enables the president
to single out egregious earmarks in bills that arrive on his desk for signature and send these specific items back to Congress for expedited votes
on whether to rescind, or cancel funding for these
provisions.

07/17/2010 - Hawaii Filipino Chronicle

Transcription

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